Alfa Romeo is facing an embarrassing new problem as their spare parts supply has almost dried up with two races to go.
The Italian team is already having a bad season, and is set to finish ninth bar an extraordinary miracle. They gave up on the season in January itself, and devoted all their resources towards their 2022 car.
However, that oversight has given rise to a new situation, one that is as comical as it is horrendous.
Crashes and repairs are one thing, but to have an empty trove of parts at such a crucial time is unfathomable. However, Alfa Romeo is facing exactly that problem, as they are running out of spare parts with two races to go.
“You don’t build any new parts so late in the season. It takes 20 days to produce a floor,” team manager Beat Zehnder said, as quoted by Planet F1.
The team has two damaged floors on their hands, both coming from the Qatar GP. They have to go back to the factory in Switzerland to fix the issue. They now are caught up in a battle against the clock as they look to repair it ahead of the penultimate race of the season.
“When it comes to Riyadh, there is always the danger that something will be delayed when reloading,” Zehnder said with a worried expression.
Divert the attention
Team boss Frederic Vasseur revealed the reason why Alfa Romeo decided to focus on the 2022 car instead of trying to salvage this season.
“The main reason we are losing a little bit in performance from the beginning of the season is because we decided to switch, from January, to 100 per cent on 2022,” he had said in August.
“When we took the decision, I knew if you switch 100 per cent to the next year’s car, you won’t develop the 2021 car. And that’s the case.”
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